Guilt
by sagewolf
Summary: Isaac is torn over his inability to help his friends, and manages to get another chance. Slowly, Isaac perceives that his good intentions have made things worse. But if he can't remember changing anything... How can he fix it?
1. Prologue

Alright, new fic. This one is going to take a while to write and get up...(sorry if this comes out wrong, my 't' is acting up.)...cause it's kinda long. I'm no sure how long, exactly, yet, but I'm thinking LONG.

Elliott: Aren't you already doing a chapter fic? Shouldn't you leave this until you finish Siblings?

Yeah probably. This one will also be a little darker than my other fics, I'm thinking. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun. And I'm only saying that once for this fic. I doubt Camelot gives a damn about me anyway.

* * *

The assembled Adepts, five of them, yelled at Felix almost in unison. "You're doing what?!" Felix played with his hair nervously, but other than that, he seemed unfazed.

"I'm leaving," he repeated firmly. "I don't belong here anymore. Certain people-" he looked pointedly at Garet- "have made that quite clear."

"Felix, you're still my friend. I…I mean, sure, I didn't trust you before, but that was _before. _I trust you now; you're still the same person deep down, andI don't want you to leave," said Garet.

"Not everyone is mad at you. It's only about one in ten, I'd say," Felix's mother, Sarah, told him. "And they'll come around."

"Please, son, don't go. You do belong here; you belong with your family," said Felix's father, James.

Felix was silent for a moment. Then he repeated himself. He was leaving Vale. Not that day, or the next, but soon, perhaps next week. He was not going to be shaken on this subject.

Jenna stared silently at her brother, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. She opened her mouth to speak and closed it again, several times. Finally she closed it tightly and fled, bending her neck so that her hair obscured her face. Felix opened his mouth slightly, wanting to call her back. But she wouldn't listen. He knew why she was upset; she didn't want him to leave again, she didn't want to be alone again. Hopefully, she just needed time, to get used to the idea.

He'd said what he had to say, as unpleasant as it had been. He turned to go, walking back up to the recently built house his family stayed in. He could sense the stares of his friends and parents on the back of his neck, but he paid them no heed. They'd get used to it. He'd left before, and they'd lived. If only he could believe they would understand…

But they wouldn't. He wanted to explore the world again. That was his main reason. Life in Vale _had_ changed; some villagers openly shunned him or were plain hostile. But that wasn't the main reason. He could live with that, unpleasant though it was.

He wasn't done adventuring yet. His family would never understand that. His father was more down-to-earth, more sensible. His mother was given to bursts of emotion, and he knew she would worry herself sick if she knew he was still journeying. And Jenna…

Jenna would have supported him, would have told him to be happy. She would have tried, as she was now, to hide her hurt from him.

But she would be hurt. He was hurting her right then. He felt it too; the bond between the siblings was tight. That was what he would regret most. But she had their parents; she had Isaac, Garet, Kay… all their friends. And leaving would prevent him from ripping that pathetic blacksmith wanna-be in half when he eventually proposed to her. He could barely stop himself from doing it right then, whenever he saw the idiot. He wasn't really abandoning her…

Was he?

* * *

Isaac tapped at the shutters on Felix's bedroom window, softly at first, then louder, fearful of waking Jenna or her parents. He wanted to speak to Felix alone, so Felix wouldn't clam up as he did in a group. "Felix," he hissed, after getting no response. There was silence for a moment, and Isaac heard rustling and the almost-silent pad of Felix's feet on the wooden floor. Felix whispered his reply through the wooden shutters.

"Who's there? What do you want?"

"It's Isaac. I want to speak to you. In _private._" There was a pause, long enough to make Isaac wonder if Felix had returned to bed. As Isaac began to think of calling him again, the latch on the shutters clicked and they opened just a crack, enough for the two friends to make eye contact. Felix's eyes held a question.

"I don't want to argue. I just want to know why." Felix hesitated before nodding and opening the shutters wide enough for Isaac to climb through. The two of them faced each other. Felix motioned to a chair and Isaac sat down. Felix sat down on his bed. There wasn't much else in the way of furnishings, just the chair, the bed and a wardrobe. There was nothing in the way of decoration. It was almost as if Felix had never intended to live here.

"I told you why," Felix said immediately. "I don't belong here. Nobody really wants me here, I'm just not accepted." He sighed. "I wasn't at all, never since we came back."

Isaac frowned and leaned forward. "Bull. That's not the Felix I know. You don't give a rat's ass what other people want, or what they think of you. Except for Jenna," he amended thoughtfully. Felix smiled slightly.

"And you," Felix added. "I can't have you thinking you're better than me."

Isaac smiled back, but he didn't fall for the ruse. "And me, alright. Don't change the subject. Why are you leaving?" Felix's smile fell.

"I just don't…I don't feel comfortable here anymore. Think about it. Just because Vale's buildings were destroyed doesn't mean that its rules have been. If I stay here, I'll be holed up here for my entire life. After this mess, there's no way I'll ever get permission to leave…and if I left without permission, I'd be watched like a hawk when I came back. I feel _trapped_ here, like an animal in a cage."

Isaac listened to his friend intently, feeling part of him agree with Felix. "Felix," he said, "I understand what you're feeling. Sometimes… I think that too. But Vale is our _home. _Are you just going to turn your back on the people who care about you?"

"You said you didn't want to argue," Felix said. Isaac fidgeted in his chair. "But… sometimes I do feel like that, and I know it will hurt you all. But I'll visit as often as I can. I'm not abandoning you. And if I do stay here, it'll be as if I'm turning my back on our other friends; Piers, Mia, Ivan,…Sheba…" He paused and went on hastily, "All the people we met on our travels. I promised to visit them again. Besides," he whispered, suddenly energetic, "I've seen the _world,_ Isaac! Deserts, jungles, frozen wastelands…hell, we went inside a volcano! A _volcano!_ I want to see everything I missed before. The whole thing! Every last bit and wonder!" He seemed to realise what he was doing and stifled a laugh. Even though it was too dark to see, Isaac was sure he was blushing. "Sorry, didn't mean to make a speech. But I can't turn my back on that, Isaac. I'm sorry. I just can't."

Isaac spent a while sorting out his thoughts, deciding what to say to Felix. "This time…I can't say I feel the same way at all. Once is enough for me. I understand that you might feel that way, though. You're the adventurous one. All I want is to live my life, have a home, a family-" he glanced up at Felix, wondering if he would sense with whom-" and if I can have that, I don't care if I never see another desert again."

Felix narrowed his eyes at Isaac and Isaac wondered fleetingly if he'd given the wrong message to Felix. Then Felix shook his head and Isaac relaxed.

"You're a simpler soul than me, Isaac. Maybe you're lucky. …Did you learn what you came here to learn?" Isaac nodded, resigning himself to the idea of Felix leaving. They bid each other goodnight and Isaac left the room the way he'd come in. "Besides," Felix said, almost as an afterthought, "what I told the others was the truth. I know I don't usually care what people think of me, but disapproval is one thing, and outright dislike and hostility is another. Some people won't even talk to me."

"It's a few against many, Felix.'

"Only takes one to make your life miserable."

"Well…Felix, at least tell your friends and family the truth about why you're leaving. The way you're doing it, they're going to feel guilty for not being there for you when you need it. Especially Jenna. This is breaking her heart." Felix winced visibly.

"Re-breaking," he said to himself, thoughtful. Isaac could see the pain on his face. Jenna was, as far as Isaac could tell, the most important thing in Felix's life. He could barely deny his sister anything. "I'll think about it. Promise," he said, and closed the shutters. Isaac heard the latch click into place and sighed. If that was the reason…then there was nothing any of them could do. If Felix's desire was to travel, then it wasn't right to hold him back.

And yet… he had said that he wasn't happy in Vale, that the villagers shunned him. Blamed him for the destruction of the village, or still saw him as a traitor? Did it matter? If Felix had made his mind up, there would be no stopping him. Isaac returned home, snuck back in through his bedroom window (he was an expert at that) and fell asleep, troubled thoughts still running through his head.

If only he'd been able to stop Felix from being washed down stream during the storm… his friend would never have been treated like this…he wouldn't be shunned by the people he'd grown up with…Jenna never would have lost her brother…

_Alchemy would not have returned and the world would still be rushing forward to its doom. _The voice spoke in Isaac's dreams. Isaac didn't know where it came from, if it was a hidden part of his own mind, seeing the situation logically, or a separate entity altogether. In its words was an inescapable truth.

There would have been another way to restore Alchemy. The Proxians would have managed it somehow…without the pain he and his friends had gone through…

_They wouldn't have. Remember speaking with Master Hama? Karst and Agatio never reached the aerie of Mars. Would Saturos and Menardi have fared differently?_

Maybe the four of them would have…

_They would not. You know this. …There would have been a way, though…_

If only…

Caught up in the turmoil of his mind, Isaac tossed and turned all night long. In his sleep, his hand strayed, from time to time, to his chest, as if it pained him, although as young and healthy as he was, there was no reason for it to do so.

* * *

The next day, Isaac, Felix and Garet were meant to finish building the roof of the town hall, a new addition to the town. However, when it came time to start, only Garet was there. It was almost an hour after that that Isaac woke up, not at all refreshed, and another half-hour before he managed to get down to the hall. Garet waved a hammer at him.

"You're late!" he yelled through a mouthful of nails. "Where have you been?"

"I overslept," Isaac said, getting to work. "I had some…" He paused, remembering the chaos of his dreams. "I had a bad dream and didn't sleep too well."

Garet shrugged. "At least you're here. Felix hasn't shown up yet either. You know if he's coming today? Or is he packing or something like that? Oh, no, wait, I know! You two had a tearful farewell last night! Hiding in the shadows, exchanging last kisses…" Garet struck a pose, did a bad impression of Isaac and Felix (with high-pitched voices) saying goodbye and crying. It ended with a parody of the two boys kissing, and as Garet began to mime groping, Isaac punched Garet on the shoulder.

"Shut it," he said, laughing, and ducked a punch Garet threw back at him. "Seriously, Garet, I'll bet he's talking to his parents. Or Jenna," he added, remembering the look on Felix's face the previous night. Garet nodded.

"Yeah. I bet they've got some painful goodbyes to say." They worked like that until lunchtime, trading comments or quips back and forth, or working in an amiable silence broken only by the rap of the hammers.

At lunchtime, Isaac announced an intention to go find Felix and see what he was doing, and if he intended to come and help them. Garet waved at him impatiently, his mouth full of food, and Isaac began his search. He looked all over Vale for nearly an hour, excepting Kraden's cottage which was, once again, built at a distance from the town. For a very good reason, that reason being situated below Kraden's nose and above his chin. Isaac didn't really understand why nobody liked to talk to Kraden. The old man was quite interesting. …Wait a minute.

If you wanted privacy, where would you go? Somewhere that isn't a popular place to be. And where in Vale fitted that description?

Isaac smiled. Kraden's cottage. Or near it, anyway. He set off for the old man's home as quickly as he could.

They were easy to find. The siblings were hiding behind a large stack of logs Kraden used to fuel his fires. Isaac could hear their voices, low and indistinct. Reluctant to interrupt them, Isaac turned to go before curiosity seized him. Had Felix taken his advice? He shouldn't be eavesdropping on his friends, though.

_It's not eavesdropping if you're __**supposed**__ to be there. It's just…overhearing. An honest mistake. _Ivan's words came back to Isaac with a mischievous smile almost as scary as Ivan's own. Part of him objected- this was a private conversation!-but Isaac had already made up his mind. He poked his head into Kraden's cottage and asked if he would like some more wood for his fires. Kraden said yes, how considerate of you, Isaac.

Two minutes later, Isaac was halfway up the woodpile, pulling logs from the top as silently and slowly as he could, and concentrating intently on Felix and Jenna's conversation.

"But, I don't see why you have to leave for good…"

"It's not for good. I'll come back and visit. Besides, you'll be fine. You won't be alone, like before. You'll have our parents, Isaac and Garet-"

"I will _not_ be 'fine'. I am losing my brother _again._ Felix…Felix, I just found you, after so long. How can you want to leave?"

"I said, I'm not comfortable here. I want to see the world again."

"Which is more important than your family?" There was a very uncomfortable pause. Finally Felix spoke again. Isaac had forgotten the wood at this point.

"No, but…I just…I need to start living my own life, Jenna. I can't live with my parents forever. This is the path I'm choosing." His voice had turned firm. It softened again. "I'm sorry that this is hurting you."

Jenna was silent. Then she spoke, still very quiet. "Fine, Felix. If this will make you happy, if it's the life you want…go ahead. You had better come back and visit soon." Her voice was choked, as if she was trying to keep back tears. There was silence from them. Isaac frowned. Damnit, this wasn't right. Those two… This shouldn't have happened to them. Why did they have to separated, when they were so close? It would have been better if it had been someone without anyone so close to them, instead of Felix…someone…

_There would have been a way._

…more like him…

If… 

He shook his head to clear it, and sighed.

"I'm so sorry, Jenna…and you Felix…

"I should have been able to save you back then."

Isaac froze. His body was…glowing. But he wasn't using Psynergy, and this wasn't the brownish-green, earthen colour of his Psynergy. This light was a golden aura, surrounding him, so bright as to rival Sol itself.

A burning pain lanced through his chest and, reeling in pain and shock, Isaac toppled off of his perch to collapse on the ground, the concerned voices of Felix and Jenna the last things he heard as he sank into darkness.

"Isaac? What happened—"

"Isaac! Isaac, wake up—"

* * *

What do you think? Read and review!

Elliott: Magic word?

Ugh. 'Please.' I can't believe a figment of my imagination is lecturing me.


	2. 1: What You Wished For

**Review Responses:**

**Dracobolt**: OMG Dracobolt said I was good! (falls over and faints)

Elliott: She said your _writing_ was good.

Same difference while I'm doing this.

Elliott: I thought you were unconscious.

Then why'd you talk to me?

Elliott: O.o Oh. Your. God. You. Are. Rubbing. Off. On. Me. (Runs off. Shower starts running. The sound of furious scrubbing can be heard.)

-Gets up- Rubbing off on you? I made you up! Ah well…TT Stupid Elliott…

(Swiftly remembers Dracobolt)Thank you Dracobolt!! Glad you're interested, here's the update! Hope it's still interesting after this…the plot hasn't really started yet…

**Kris the Ninja Pirate:** Thank you for the review, and for putting it in your faves! Here's chappy 2…sorry it took so long. Right now, Siblings is going to be my main project 'cause it's shorter than Guilt, so when Siblings is done, I can concentrate on this and this will be my main project! So it will speed up then!

Felix: If I know anything about you, your _children_ will be reading this by then.

…I'm still in the Irish-equivalent-of-high school.

Felix: My point exactly.

-.-++ …Shall we move on to the story? (Brandishes giant meat cleaver wickedly)

Felix: O.O

* * *

Isaac rose from sleep slowly. His name was being called…but…he couldn't tell…was it Felix? Jenna? His mother? He didn't know. One moment, it was Jenna, anxious, echoing every now and then, along with her brother's. His was less frequent, but just as worried. The next, it was his mother's, not just worried but scared. Very scared…

"Isaac! Wake up! …For goodness' sake, Isaac! Wake up! The Mt. Aleph boulder is falling! Wake up _now!_" His mother's cries broke through his sleep. He lifted his head off the pillow and shook it. It was not morning, he knew that much; there was a storm outside. A truly awful one, too. Lightning flashed; the inside of the room was lit sparsely, the light leaking through the shutters on his window. His mother was wearing her pyjamas, with a heavier robe thrown on over them. She was shaking his shoulder hard enough to dislodge it from his body.

"'M up, 'm up," he mumbled, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes. He was helped by a terrific crash outside, from the north. …What had his mother said? About the boulder? …It couldn't be falling, could it? Part of him wondered what fool had thought to put a huge boulder on the top of a mountain. Part of him wanted to hide under the bed and cry. Isaac, however, jumped out of bed and followed his mother's example, pulling heavy overclothes on to protect him from the rain without bothering to take his pyjamas off. His mother offered him his cloak as he buckled on his machete. He pulled his boots on and they were off.

The ferocity of the storm really hit him when they were outside. Literally. The strength of the wind and rain combined nearly knocked him off his feet. Lightning flashed and illuminated everything for He clutched his cloak close to him-at least it was waterproof-and brushed his hair out of his eyes. It was wet enough to stick to his cheeks. He needed to get it cut again.

"Isaac!" He glanced up. His mother–Dora–was calling his name. "Isaac, are you listening?" He nodded, still holding his cloak tight to his body. "Your father and I are going to help evacuate the other villagers," she told him. "You get yourself down to the plaza as quickly as you can."

"But–"

"No buts! You'd need Psynergy to help, Isaac; you're too young yet. Neither of us wants to lose you. Go to the plaza where it's safe. We'll meet you there later." With that, she and his father, Kyle, dashed off, towards the houses of the other villagers. Towards the boulder. Isaac watched them go, his stomach performing performance-grade gymnastics.

_Stop worrying,_ he told himself.

* * *

Felix watched Jenna get outside before he did so himself. She slipped on the pier their grandfather had built when he'd built the house; the old wood was wet and slippery. He caught her and helped her up. As he did, he heard a rumbling noise. He looked up, saw what it was. A small boulder. Not the Boulder, but a big enough boulder to hurt someone substantially. It was coming straight for them. He tensed, pulled his sister up, pushed her against the wall of the house, and threw all the Psynergy he had at it.

It caught the boulder in mid-air, making it fly a few feet further than it normally would have. Felix watched, drained, as the boulder landed in the river.

It caught one of the posts holding up the pier. The entire thing shook violently as a chunk of it disappeared into the raging water, throwing both siblings off their feet. Jenna hit the side of the house and fell to her hands and knees.

Felix lost his balance and, clawing desperately at the air, fell straight into the river. The water engulfed him and nearly swept him away. He hit a rock–hard–and clung to it with all his strength. After that stunt with the boulder, though, he didn't have much of that. He opened his mouth to call for help, and swallowed water. He could hear Jenna screaming like a banshee in the background to the roaring water, though. He left the screaming to her and concentrated on keeping his head above the water.

* * *

Isaac began to go south. Then he stopped, remembering Garet. His grandfather was the mayor; his parents were undoubtedly doing the same thing as Isaac's own. His sister, Kay, would be taking care of their brother, Aaron. So…that left Garet all alone. Isaac didn't like the sound of that. Garet was by no means stupid, but he was a little slow. Isaac didn't like the idea of Garet being all on his own at a time like this. Yet, his parents had told him quite clearly to get down to the plaza as soon as possible…

A boulder crashed to the ground in front of him, blocking his way south. Even if it hadn't been, it would have decided him. He couldn't leave his friend alone when it was this dangerous! He ran north, to Garet's house. Sure enough, Garet was still there, his family were long gone, and he was doing something stupid. He was trying to drag a huge chest of junk with him. He'd made it about…oh…six feet. He had to be stopped.

Isaac went over to him. "What in Venus' name are you doing?" he asked. Garet answered between heaves. At every heave, the chest moved another inch or so.

"I'm,"–one inch–"trying,"–one inch–"to"–two inches!–"save"–one inch–"my"–one inch–"things!" Isaac couldn't believe it. He shook his head in exasperation (and getting his hair out of his eyes.)

"Garet, why is that important?" Garet opened his mouth to answer, then closed it. He thought for a moment.

"So…I should get out of here, and save my own life instead?" Isaac smiled and nodded. It took him a while, but Garet usually got the right answer. Garet grinned back and nodded his own head. "Right! Lead the way, Isaac!" If there was one thing they always agreed on, it was that Isaac was the leader. Garet and Kay would follow him around unquestioningly, while Jenna and her friend Thomas, the blacksmith's son, followed Felix. When the two groups joined up, there was always a short argument: Isaac or Felix? They either led jointly, or switched at intervals. The others were more prone to argue about it than the two themselves anyway.

Isaac led Garet north, in a roundabout route to the plaza, since the direct one was cut off. They went past Kraden's cottage–they checked inside just in case he was hurt or still asleep. Neither of them was particularly fond of the old man, especially since he treated Adepts like research subjects, but he _was_ an old man. They couldn't just leave him there if he was there. Satisfied that he wasn't, they continued south when they heard a cry of "Boys!"

They turned around. Oh, Thomas, that wuss. He was lying on the ground, next to a boulder. Isaac wondered if he'd been hit, when a small, blue-and-purple mouse-like creature jumped out of the bushes. Thomas yelled and covered his eyes. Isaac dashed forward, swinging his machete wildly. The creature jumped back, surprised, then retaliated with a staff topped with what looked like a disembodied hand. Isaac took the hit, shielding his face with one arm, and impaled the little creature with his sword.

"Vermin," he muttered. That was what everyone in Vale called the little creatures, because they were. They attacked the hurt, old, and infirm, chewed through roofs, ate hay and grain meant for livestock and horses. They were perfect little vermin. He wiped his blade off on the grass and bent over to look at Thomas.

"What happened to you?" Garet asked.

"A boulder crushed the fence…I got hit with a post…then the Vermin attacked me…with the fence broken, they're everywhere…ah…" He struggled to get up, but couldn't. "I'm hurt pretty badly…do you think I'm gonna…die?" He seemed afraid to even voice the last word. Isaac thought it was pretty likely, with boulders falling all over the place, monsters running amok, and Thomas unable to walk, but he shook his head anyway; no point in scaring him worse than he was.

"No, of course not. You'll be fine!" he told him. As he said it, he felt something twist inside him and gasped. He shook his head to clear it, barely hearing Thomas talk.

"This is awful! I'm left out here for…for…ah…" Slowly, Thomas got to his feet. Isaac and Garet stared at him, Isaac still seeing dancing spots in front of his friend. "Huh. That's weird…I could have sworn…I'm not hurt at all!" A huge grin spread across his face and he nodded to Isaac and Garet. "I was serious about the monsters, though…obviously…so watch yourselves, okay? I've gotta go and meet my parents!" He dashed off and Garet looked at Isaac.

"…Uh, Isaac? You don't look too good. Are you alright? You aren't hurt, are you?" Isaac shook his head; he was already feeling better.

"Nah. I'm fine. Just a slight shock, I guess…"

"We should get going."

"Yeah. Yeah," Isaac agreed with Garet, and led the way again.

* * *

"Felix!" Isaac wrung his scarf out for the ninth time, wrapping it around his neck an extra time to stop it from dragging the ground.

"Was that Jenna?" he asked Garet, yelling over the wind.

Garet nodded after a moment. He was out of breath. Garet wasn't much of an endurance runner. Isaac had to keep stopping for him to catch up. He motioned south, down a flight of steps to Felix and Jenna's house. They stopped at the banks of the river to see what was happening.

Felix had fallen in the river. He was clinging to a spur of rock level with Isaac and Garet. Felix's parents, Isaac's own, and Jenna were on the pier connected to Felix's house, trying to find some way to rescue him. They had a rope, but it was pitifully short; they'd never reach him with that. His mother and Jenna came off the pier and his mother saw him. "Isaac! What are you doing here?"

"We had to take a detour, with all the rocks," Isaac told her. "What happened…and how can we help?" Dora sighed.

"You can help Jenna find someone with Psynergy…unless you have some rope on you?" Isaac shook his head sadly, then brightened. He untied his scarf with some difficulty-it was wet, after all, and that knot had been in it for the past two years-and handed it to his mother.

"Can you use this?" His mother looked at it and took it to the others on the pier. They tied it to the rope as Isaac, Garet and Jenna crowded in closer to the bank. Kyle threw it as hard as he could; it landed just to Felix's right. Isaac and Jenna got very excited. The rope reached! Now Kyle just had to get it to Felix.

On the third try, he managed it. The rope landed next to Felix on the rock with an inaudible splat(Isaac imagined.) Felix spent a minute grabbing the rope without letting go of the rock, and their fathers hauled him to the pier and safety. They carried him to the banks while he coughed up all the water he'd swallowed. Jenna ran to him and hugged her brother so tightly she nearly strangled him.

Isaac and Garet hung back, watching. After about a minute, Garet's patience ran out and he began to fidget, then pace. Isaac stayed where he was, beside the river.

Thunder rumbled overhead, making Jenna remember where they were. She let go of Felix, and Sarah suggested they all go to the plaza. Everyone agreed.

There was another crash…but there had been no lightning. There hadn't been any lightning before, either… Isaac looked up, and went very pale.

* * *

Felix saw Isaac look up and freeze, and followed his gaze. Felix went as white as his friend and yelled hoarsely, "BOULDER!"

Too late. Jenna clung to him for comfort; Dora started to run for Isaac, but his father held her back; Kyle began to run as well, but slipped, and Isaac scrambled frantically to get away from the bank and fell, his boot stuck in the mud. The Boulder hit just behind the pier and bounced, landing practically next to Isaac. He gave up struggling and hid his head in his arms before a surge of water obscured him completely.

Felix looked up, soaking wet and breathless(again). The entire pier had been knocked away, along with half the banks of the river…and Isaac. Felix stared around him, shook his head to get his hair out of his eyes, and looked again. He was still gone.

…He had to go get help. If it hadn't been for Isaac, he'd have been in that river when the boulder hit. He had to help Isaac now, had to. He grabbed Garet's arm, and pulled him towards the southern part of the village. Garet stared at him blankly, then came back to himself. He nodded and they began running southwards.

Halfway there, Felix heard voices. He stopped underneath a ledge and waited for Garet to show up. Holding a finger to his lips for 'quiet', he listened. He didn't know these people. What were they doing in Vale?

"Who would have guessed Sol Sanctum would unleash such fury? We are the only ones left… out of the finest of our village…" Felix heard the creak and jingle of armor, and guessed it was a warrior. Why were they talking about Sol Sanctum? No-one went up there. The elders forbade it. Felix doubted it would be much more than dust anyway.

A female voice answered him. "Yes…I wonder if this is what the villagers mean when they speak of 'terrible retribution." …We should have been more careful." Both voices were cold and nearly emotionless. Felix did not think he wanted to meet their owners. He felt the urge to sneeze and instead wiped his nose on his sleeve. He felt five again.

"Still, next time…" Next time…Felix wondered…had they been into the Sanctum? Had they caused this? Clearly, they had lost a number of people to the storm too, but…they had no right! Who did they think they were?

Caught up in his anger, Felix had to stuff his fist into his mouth to keep from yelling. Unfortunately, with one hand in his mouth, and the other supporting his weight, he couldn't cover his nose. He sneezed. Loudly.

The voices stopped. Felix motioned to Garet to run, or hide, or something, and stepped out more. Hopefully they'd think it was just him. Garet looked like he wanted to refuse, but he ran back the way they'd come and hid behind a bush. None too soon. A man and woman appeared above the ledge. the man wore a blue-grey breastplate and white trousers and had blue hair, the woman was blonde and wore light armor and a skirt. The oddest thing about them was their skin; his was blue with darker navy markings, hers pink with red. Both had scales covering their upper arms and shoulders. Both had red eyes and pointed ears.

Felix began to hope that Garet would stay hidden and come back somehow. He was sure he was going to die.

"Were you eavesdropping on us?" Felix was about to say no, then yes, and eventually, he settled for nodding his head slightly, afraid to speak. He tried to look braver than he felt, but he didn't trust his voice just then. The man narrowed his eyes. "I appreciate your honesty, but I'm afraid…" He drew his sword.

"You will have to forget everything you heard just now," the woman finished, holding a large scythe. they jumped down and pounced on him. Felix blacked out, hoping against hope that Garet would get away.

* * *

He woke up in the sanctum. Garet was on a bed next to him. Beds had been set up in the sanctum for anyone who'd been injured. Apparently, a lot of people had. Felix tried to sit up, catching the healer's eye.

"No, no Felix. Lie down. You were hurt quite badly, you need to rest." Felix lay back down and asked how long he'd been there.

It had been three days since the storm. Felix had been unconscious all that time. Garet as well. They'd been found a little way east of Felix's house-what was left of it-and they'd been brought there for healing. The healer asked what had hurt him and Garet, and Felix began to answer. …But, he couldn't remember what had happened. The healer accepted this easily, saying that few people remembered exactly how they'd gotten hurt, and told him to stay there while he brought food. Once he wasn't looking, Felix eased himself into a sitting position, using his pillow and the wall to support himself. He scanned the room, didn't see what he was looking for, and worked up the courage to ask as the healer turned away after bringing his soup.

"…Did Isaac–" The healer avoided his gaze.

"…No. He isn't here. They looked, and they're still looking, but…they haven't found him." He laid a hand on Felix's shoulder and walked off. Felix stared at his soup, and for a while he didn't want it. He forced it past the lump in his throat anyway. They'd find him. He had to be out there somewhere.

* * *

Isaac stumbled for the fourth time that morning. If it was morning. He wasn't sure. He'd woken up on a riverbank about two hours ago…he thought. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious. He'd gotten the hell away from that river, though, as quickly as he could…until it occurred to him that anyone who was looking for him would probably follow the river. By then he'd been a long way away from it. He'd tried to find it again, but he'd failed. He'd tried to find the road, but he'd failed. Now he was hopelessly lost in the woods, and trying to go north. He hoped to the gods he was going north.

He fell against a tree trunk, exhausted beyond words. He hadn't eaten or drank anything since he'd fallen in the river. He didn't have anything to eat or drink. He sank to the ground. He needed to rest. He needed food. He needed…

He froze. …Footsteps were approaching him. From…the right? No, the left. He stood up, letting the tree do all the supporting his legs usually did. "Hey! he yelled. "Hey, over here! Help!" His voice sounded strange to him from not using it for several days. The footsteps stopped and, after a pause, began to move over his way.

A man and a woman came into view. For a fleeting instant, Isaac was scared of them, but he was more scared of being left out in the woods to die. "C–can you help me?" he asked. "I'm from Vale, to the north…I fell into the river during the storm…"

"Why aren't your own people helping you?" the woman asked, her voice harsh.

"They just haven–haven't found me yet. I probably wasn't the only one who was hurt or lost, anyway… Will you help me?" The woman frowned at him and opened her mouth. The man silenced her with an upraised hand, a mirthless smile on his face.

"Yes, we'll help you." Isaac brightened up.

"Really?"

He nodded. "Come here," he said. Isaac stumbled over to the man and was slung over his shoulder. Isaac didn't really like the indignity of it, but on the other hand, he didn't think he was capable of walking just then. So he passed out like that and stayed that way for quite a while. Every time he woke up, they were still in the forest. They gave him food whenever he woke up, and now and then they built a fire for him. Something seemed wrong about them, but Isaac was too relieved at being found, and too weak, to figure it out.

It sunk in when he saw the ship. He woke up in a wood-panelled cabin with a window, a bed, and a change of clothes. The door was locked. The man or woman would leave food in the cabin while he was asleep. He had no chance of escaping.

It was several weeks before they stopped sailing. The door to his cabin opened suddenly, and the man was standing there. He motioned with his head for Isaac to follow him. Isaac pulled on the cloak they'd given him–it had been getting gradually colder–and followed him up on deck. He didn't seem to mind the cold, and neither did his partner. Isaac joined them at the railing, one on each side of him, and looked northward.

Everything was covered in snow. They were in a dock just off a large river. About a mile to the north it became a glacier. The man told him that they were walking from there on, and stepped off the ship. The woman shoved him forward and he went, clutching his cloak to him. It was freezing. He wished they'd thought to give him gloves.

They walked for several hours, the man setting an easy pace for Isaac to follow once he saw how unused to the snow he was. It was truly unpleasant stuff after a while. It was deep, coming nearly up to Isaac's waist, and with every step, he plunged down through it. He walked in the path the man made, but it was still hard going. Finally, they arrived at an archway made of antlers and hardwood. Isaac stopped and stated the obvious.

"This is not Vale."

The man turned to look at him. "No. This is Prox."

"Why am I here?"

"You are from Vale." It wasn't a question, so Isaac saw little point in denying it.

"Yes."

"Then you are an Adept." Isaac jumped and stared at the word. The man watched him for a moment, then walked over to him. Cupping his palm, he held it in front of Isaac. His entire body glowed and a fireball appeared in his hand without burning it. Isaac continued to stare, faintly aware that his mouth was hanging open.

_Heat! Blessed heat! _He edged closer to the fireball.

"Does this mean you aren't an Adept?" Again, Isaac saw little point in lying, so he answered truthfully.

"No…I…just…We didn't think there were Adepts outside Vale…" Saturos shook his head.

"Deluded fools…So you weren't using Psynergy because you didn't want us to know you had it? Can you call fire, like us?" Isaac shook his head. "Which element, then? Earth, wind or water?"

"Earth…" He swallowed. "I can…," he looked up, faintly ashamed of his poor skill, "…make plants grow." The man looked at him for a moment, then sighed.

"Well…that's a start…pathetic, maybe, but…" He cleared his throat and it occurred to Isaac that he didn't have much experience of problems that couldn't be solved with a blade. Or of people younger than 20. …Or of people who felt cold. His hands were rapidly turning the same colour as the man's own. He'd lost sensation in them about ten minutes ago. He found himself edging closer to the fireball again. He was going to set his clothes aflame if this kept up.

"What is your name?" He moved the fireball a little way away from Isaac but didn't put it out.

"Isaac."

"Well…I'm Saturos. This is Menardi. Do you know why you're here?" Isaac hazarded a guess.

"You're kidnapping me and ransoming me off?"

Saturos shook his head. "We have need of your assistance in a very grave matter."

"…Because I'm an Earth Adept?" Saturos nodded.

"We are not asking, now. We are _telling_ you that for the next few years, you will be helping us."

"Can I ask my parents?"

"No. That would involve a trip back to Angara."

"Can I send letters home?"

"No. That, again, would involve a trip to Angara."

Isaac stared at him. …He seemed to be completely trapped in this place.

"How long…"

"I can quite honestly say I have no idea. Until you learn to use Psynergy properly." Saturos didn't look like he was optimistic about the prospect of waiting for that.

"What are you doing?"

"We will explain later." Menardi was getting quite impatient; she was the one who'd spoken. "Are you coming or not?"

Isaac hesitated; still distrustful of them, when Saturos said, "The town hall has a big fireplace."

Fire first. Doubts second.

* * *

Okay! Two chapters done! By now, the premise is clear, and the plot should be clear by…um…

Elliott: What she means is, if you figure out the plot before she does, let her know. …Why is the carpet suddenly red and wet?

…No reason.

Elliott: Where's Felix?

…He went out…yeah…ignore that large shape behind the curtain… Now, what were you implying about my planning abilities?

Elliott: o.o …Nothing. I swear.

Felix: (enters room) What are we arguing about now? Sorry, I was in the jon.

Just kidding! XD I spilled some Ribena. …Hey, why'd she just faint?

Felix: (?) Well, anyway… Read and review!

Yeah! Since I don't have a plan, I can take suggestions and requests on board!


	3. 2: Research Trip, and Setting Out

From now on, A/N are at the end of chapters, cause I know people want to get to the story. Probably.

**Chapter II: **

**Research Trip, and Setting Out**

Isaac stared at Saturos in disbelief. "So, three years of training, three _years_ of swordfighting and casting spells and building up my strength in blizzards, storms, and fair weather, and my job is to _open a door?" _He couldn't quite believe what he and Alex had found in an old book in the Proxian library. Alex was scowling too.

"I had always known it would be the responsibility of a clan member to open the doors, but I had hoped we would be slightly more important." He flipped a page, still scanning the faded script. "Especially since Saturos' participation is becoming doubtful." Isaac shuddered.

"Please, please don't remind me that we might be traveling with Karst or Agatio. They are psych–"

"What were you saying about my sister?" Menardi had entered the room, as silent as she ever was. Isaac didn't miss a beat, continuing his sentence. Not the way he'd intended, of course.

"–ed up, aren't they? It's boring with them around; there's nothing to do." Menardi eyed Isaac suspiciously, as if she longed to be able to see into his thoughts. Isaac knew well that she couldn't, as she wasn't a Jupiter Adept, and he was still alive. Man, some of the things he thought around her…like the private 'burnt-cornbread-hair' thought he'd had after one of Agatio's fireballs had caught her on the head. That one would have gotten him nothing less than skinned alive, he knew. After a moment, she ceased to stare, seeming to dismiss it as a waste of effort.

"Well, Isaac, it's a good thing you think so, because Saturos and I are coming with you after all. Puelle decided that we were the two most suited. We are the least likely to be swayed by emotion on the mission." Alex huffed; he preferred Karst and Agatio, apparently. Isaac disagreed; in his mind Saturos was a more …companionable person, when he didn't think he was on duty, that was. Then he was stiffer than most corpses, stiffer than a floorboard or even a metal post, for Venus' sake. Lately, he always seemed to have a rod up his ass.

Menardi looked over the notes they had made and reminded Isaac to meet Saturos in the practice yard after an hour had passed. She left and Alex grimaced even more than he had been. Isaac laughed.

"Well, as I was saying, Karst and Agatio are _completely_ psychotic. Thank goodness they're not coming. Hmm? What's wrong, Al? Hey!" His hand had abruptly become frozen to the desk.

"I tell you not to call me that. You consistently ignore me. I would be happier if Saturos and Menardi were not coming. Puelle did not heed my advice."

"Why?" With some effort, he managed to tug his hand free of the desk, though the ice still clung to it.

"Must you be so inquisitive? You act six, not sixteen." Isaac smirked.

"I know. Why do you prefer Karst and Agatio?" He flipped through another page and found a record of the Anemos Clan. He scanned through it, finding no information less than three centuries old in the text, although it had been written in his own lifetime. He repressed an urge to throw it at the wall, although he'd rather have thrown it at its author. Alex did not reply, indicating it was none of his business. Isaac had a hunch, though. Alex was a control freak; he liked things the way he ordered them, liked to decide the way things would be. Either it was the simple defiance Puelle had shown to him (Alex saw it as defiance, anyway) or it was the fact that Karst and Agatio were easier to manipulate and 'play' than Saturos and Menardi. Or both. Alex was always this terse around Isaac; the Valean had shown repeatedly that he would not be manipulated. "Alex," he said after a moment of silence.

"Yes."

"Have you thought of visiting this place?" He pointed to the map. The label beside the dot he was pointing at read _Contigo._ "The remnants of the Anemos tribe. If we're going to find a Jupiter Adept anywhere, it'd be there." Alex frowned.

"Underneath the Lighthouse… Well, it would be a start. What if there aren't any Adepts there? There were no Venus Adepts in Lalivero, remember when I scouted it? Those loonies worshipped a twelve-year-old."

"Yes, I do remember the report... It's still worth the trouble of scouting, though. And this time, try to get some information. I still say that twelve-year-old was an Adept of some sort." Alex waved him off.

"Fine. If I get ambushed and killed by barbarians, it is your fault, and you get to find yourself another Mercury Adept." Isaac nodded, a self-satisfied smirk spreading across his face. All he'd really wanted was a month's break from Alex. Now he had it. Alex wasn't the only person who could trick other people into doing what he wanted.

* * *

"A one-month old baby," Alex reported the instant he walked in the door nearly a month later. Isaac didn't even look up. 

"…What about him? Her. Whatever," he asked, amending his statement half-heartedly.

"She," Alex clarified, "is the Jupiter Adept you told me I would find there in that dump." He massaged his temples. "Unless we want to wait ten years more, then I suggest we find another way to climb Jupiter Lighthouse." He picked up another paper and scanned it, his eyes far away, contemplating something.

Isaac was very used to Alex's expressions and habits. "What else?" He put down his own work, and Alex gave up any pretence of searching.

"There was other talk, of two siblings that left the town, one in her adolescence, one at a very early age."

"How early, and why is this important? You think they're Adepts?" Alex nodded. "Where are they?" He shrugged.

"Who knows? They left, the boy taken by a merchant to somewhere-or-other, the girl wandering off on her own after their mother died and their father vanished." He sighed. "The girl, a woman now, I suppose, is almost certainly an Adept; the villagers were sure of it, anyway. They said she'd become quite powerful by the time she'd left the village.

"The boy would be a little bit younger than us, two or three years your junior. They know very little of him, only that a 'Hammet' took him off somewhere when he was one."

"Names are…"

"Hama. Ivan." Isaac frowned.

"You said a 'Hammet' took this boy away from the village?" Alex nodded, looking sharply at Isaac. "Because there is a merchant in Angara called Hammet. He used to trade in Vale, infrequently. As far as I know, he lives to the south of Vale, in a town called…ah…here it is," he told Alex, pointing to a dot on a map of Angara, "Kalay. Relatively new city, full of merchants."

Alex looked at Isaac, excited, although it showed only in his eyes, not touching his expression, or lack thereof; and it barely touched even them. "He's the one, then?" he asked. "I suppose it makes sense. It would be unlikely that he'd know what an Adept is, or what Psynergy is. We could promise information on those things in exchange for help…or, of course, we could just swing by Kalay and snatch him."

"No kidnapping, Alex. I'll get him out of Kalay, and I promise he'll come willingly." Alex regarded Isaac silently for a moment before returning to the maps. Isaac got up and pulled on his coat, gloves and scarf. It had taken a month's time, and a bout of pneumonia, but he had managed to introduce the notion of cold to the Proxians. The first few weeks he'd been in the town, he'd turned just as blue as Saturos whenever he needed to leave a house. Now he had an abundance of winter gear to keep him from dying until Venus Lighthouse was lit. Saturos was just so generous, when it was really necessary. _Really _necessary.

Ten minutes later, he was in Saturos' house, as close to the fire as he could get without burning himself, showing Saturos a map, with the four Lighthouses, their adjoining towns, Vale, and now Kalay highlighted on it with white paint. Isaac explained his plan– his incredibly simple plan– for obtaining a Jupiter Adept, showed Saturos what they'd found on the defences of Sol Sanctum and the lighthouses, and outlined the supplies they'd need for the trip. All such planning 'nonsense', as Saturos called it, was Isaac's and Alex's job.

Saturos listened to everything Isaac had to say, attentive and grave, and nodded curtly once he was done. "Good. Put all that stuff into the ship. Use this to get in, and get that ox Agatio to help," he told Isaac, throwing a fist-sized black crystal into Isaac's gloved hands. Isaac nearly dropped it; his gloves hadn't been designed with dexterity in mind.

"What? You mean, we're preparing to leave?" Saturos nodded. "Already?"

"We're going next week, Isaac," Saturos informed him. "I'd expected you to be a little more enthusiastic." Isaac gaped.

"But, already? We're not ready yet!"

"In a week's time we will be. Menardi and I will handle anything that happens, don't worry. Now, take care of the ship, and quickly. We need to leave before winter seals off the passage south." Isaac watched him leave the house, gripping the crystal tightly enough to turn his knuckles white under their hide-and-fur covering.

So soon? He hadn't thought… What were they going to think when he showed up? Would he be able to delay the trip, somehow? Even if it meant another year's wait to go back… No. He was right; they did need to get out before the ice sealed off the way south. It hadn't reopened until midsummer this year; who knew when it would open next year. It might not at all.

It had to be now. He went outside and did as Saturos had asked.

* * *

Okay, this chapter is a little (a lot) short… So I'll have another one up REALLY soon. The next one is going to be long, I think, though, to make up for it. 

Isaac: That's weird, isn't it? You take forever to update a short chapter, then promise a long one soon?

Uh, yeah, maybe a little… It's cause sometimes short chapters are necessary, but they suck. So you need another one up soon, or readers get mad.

…There is just one thing. After the next chapter, I'm putting this on temporary hiatus while I write up a concrete plan. It won't take long, but I want at least a blueprint for the whole thing before I go on, so it doesn't feel disjointed and so I know what I'm doing. As it stands, all I know is the end. I just want a map. That's all. With that in mind, I'll try not to end the next chapter with a cliffhanger. If I can help it. xP …Actually, I'm getting the feeling that I should have done that before I started, but…

**Review responses: Fehize** Thank you for the review! Isaac's half of the main characters in this, so yeah, I think I'm keeping that. He will talk, though. There will be no muteness in my story.

**arathia: **I know. It's not turning out as I envisioned it would, but it's only the beginning. It should get darker as it gets going. (Hopefully...Well, that's part of why I'm drawing up a plan.) Thanks for the review, though, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

And thanks to anyone who put this on alerts. I know who you are, I just can't remember your names. I remember reviewers' names, though... (hinthint)


	4. 3: Sol Sanctum

**Chapter III:**

**Sol Sanctum**

Felix yawned widely, eying his handiwork critically. He had to say, that all things considered, with the deadline he was working to and the tools he had, and his own intense dislike of water, the new pier was pretty…

"Felix, that's the worst one you've ever built! Just let Hoan do it! He's a real carpenter!" Felix cringed, even though he knew his sister was right; the only reason he was still building piers three years after the first one had been destroyed was that they had, one and all, sucked. He'd never admit it, though. Never _ever. _He informed Jenna of this, punctuating his speech with hammer-bangs.

"I," –_bang– _"am perfectly," _–bang– _"able," –_bang–_ "to build," _–bang_– "a pier!" He brought the hammer down extra-hard on the last word, sending it straight through the old, wet wood he was using. _–bangcrash– _"Ahhh!"

Jenna laughed her head off as Felix stood up in four feet of tepid, turbid water, shaking his shoulder-length hair (the parts that weren't tied into a short ponytail) out of his eyes and shivering violently. He scrambled up onto the pier as quickly as he could, slipping more than once, each time convinced he was doomed. Looking up and seeing his sister laughing, he snorted angrily, gathered up what remained of his dignity, and went inside to change his clothes. His parents saw him come in– they were eating a late breakfast– and his father shook his head.

"Fall in?" he asked, somewhat unnecessarily. Felix nodded curtly, still shivering, and went into his room to change his clothes. He pulled on the first things that came to hand; a royal-blue shirt, a greenish-brown vest, which he did not bother fastening, but left open, and trousers the colour of rich loam, the same shade as his hair. As he did so, he heard his sister come to the door and knock.

"Felix?" she called. "Can I come in?" He answered yes, his tone curter than he'd intended, and turned around as she entered. She smiled nervously as she saw him. "You're alright, right?" she asked. He nodded and smiled. "That's good. I didn't mean to laugh. I know…you get scared…" Felix relaxed, his smile becoming more natural.

"Yeah… But it's getting better. …Ah, I'll leave the pier. We should get going." Jenna looked confused for a moment, then slapped her forehead.

"Kraden! Damn, I forgot. Come on, we're late." She led the way out and was going to go straight to Kraden's cottage, when Felix pulled her to the north-west.

"We'd better go get Garet; he forgets, remember?" She nodded and followed him to his home, the one he shared with his parents, and grandparents, and his two siblings. And yet his house was no bigger than theirs. That made no sense to Felix.

They found not him, but Kay, fuming in front of her flowerbed. Which was also Garet's training ground. A large rock had crushed her precious flowers and she was vowing death, pain, blood, destruction and general revenge on her brother. Jenna agreed wholeheartedly with Kay, a fact Felix found slightly… no, scratch that, _very–_ frightening. He interrupted them hastily, before they started trading brother-torturing tips or some such thing, to ask where Garet was. He was at Dora and Kyle's, visiting. In Kay's opinion, he was hiding.

Felix thought he was right to, and he dragged Jenna off before that crazy Jerra-girl could do any more damage to his safety. Aaron teased Felix as they left, calling him a scared-of-his-sister-wuss. Felix threw a small rock at him, taking care to miss. Aaron was actually a half-decent little kid, if you ruled out the… kiddishness.

Garet was indeed at Dora and Kyle's (it had taken a while, but he no longer thought of the house as Isaac's, at least, not consciously), fixing their roof and doing as good a job of it as Felix had been doing on the pier. Dora came out and greeted them, followed by little Aedin. He pointed at Felix and yelled (Venus, he could _yell!_) "FELIK!", grinning madly. Felix grinned and crouched down. Aedin tottered over, nearly overbalancing once, and pulled on his hair while Dora and Jenna began to talk. Felix lifted the toddler into the air, roaring like a wild animal, his mouth open in a fierce grin. Aedin laughed raucously, and Felix buried his face in the little boy's stomach, pretending to try to eat him. Aedin gripped his hair, his grasp growing ever tighter, laughing the whole time until Felix put him back down. He looked up at Garet.

"How did five holes get in your roof?" he asked quietly. "I know there was a little storm last night, but this house is sturdier than that." Dora looked up and sighed.

"There were only two," she replied. Jenna sighed.

"Clumsy ox," she murmured, before adding more loudly, "You'd better help him, Felix, or else we'll be here all day." Felix nodded and stood up, extricating his trousers from Aedin's grasp before he climbed the ladder. He gathered up a pile of straw from the edge of the roof, and helped Garet fix up the holes, then used his Psynergy to mesh the new bundles of straw with the edges of the holes as Garet put them back in. He was dimly aware of, below him, Jenna going inside and talking with Kyle and Dora. …Aedin had been a godsend for them, dragging them out of their grief for Isaac. And, although Aedin, with his blond hair and blue eyes (although that hair was ice-blond, not sand, and the blue was the blue which would become another colour as the boy grew) reminded them of Isaac, it was easy to see that their pain had faded. Felix, too, felt better when he was around the boy, felt better when he heard Aedin laugh. He often offered to watch him when Dora and Kyle wanted to escape their home. It made his heart feel lighter, to watch over the little guy the way…

_The way a brother should, _he thought, and threw a little too much Psynergy into his last repair job, making the long-dead strands of grass sprout anew. He cut away the excess, frowning. If it hadn't been for him… Aedin might just have had his own brother to do that. He stood up, shaking the thought out of his head, and called to Garet.

"Is that it?" Garet nodded.

"Yeah. That's it." He ran a hand through his spiky hair, looking relieved. At seventeen, Garet was the tallest and strongest of the three friends, but he was by no means the most graceful or deft. "Thanks, Felix." Felix grinned back.

"No problem. After all, we're supposed to be meeting Kraden in…" he looked at the position of the sun, "…minus two hours or so." Garet swore and rushed off the roof, followed closely by Felix.

They went inside and found Kyle, Dora and Jenna sitting around the table eating cake. Aaron was there too, eating his piece almost politely. (_Eh, he's a Jerra, look_ _at his brother_, Felix thought.) There were two pieces left and Jenna immediately grabbed one upon seeing Garet. She grinned at Felix. Aedin pointed again and yelled "FELIK!" Kyle laughed.

"He really does like you, Felix," he said as Aedin pulled at Felix's trousers. Felix crouched down and Aedin got behind him and clambered up onto Felix's shoulders, screaming.

"HORSEYBACK!" (Aedin never, _never _said anything; only screamed.) Felix chuckled and obliged. Kyle smiled apologetically.

"Sorry… still, as I said, he loves you." Felix shook his head in negation, something which was somewhat hard to do, as Aedin had decided his ponytail was a good thing to hang onto, as it was the human equivalent of a mane. Or maybe he thought it was Felix's reins. He was pulling awfully hard, though.

Jenna tried to look put-out despite the laughing fit that had come over her. "You never gave _me_ horseyback rides," she complained.

"You've always been the same size as me," he retorted. "And you never asked, anyway." Aaron grinned evilly, and Garet saw and headed him off.

"No way, Aaron," he said, before stuffing his mouth with the remainder of his cake.

"I want one," he announced, fixing his brother with a little-sibling-gaze-of-doom. Garet winced.

"Aw, you're too old," he replied, as Aedin guided his steed over to the table to accept a 'carrot' (oddly cake-slice shaped) from Jenna. Aaron rushed his brother and leapt onto his back.

"Geddown, horsey!"

"AH! Don't pull my– AGH! Aaron! Stop that!" Eventually, Garet fell on the floor and ended the argument. Aaron kicked Garet, yelling,

"Go, my noble steed! Carry me forth to adventure and glory!"

"Neigh." Garet plodded forward with all the stately mien, nobility and speed of a half-dead-with-age tortoise, clearly put-out. Felix laughed around his mouthful of 'carrot,' and covered his mouth in a semblance of politeness. (The cake was coming out, what was more.) Aedin laughed. Or shrieked, it was hard to tell.

"We have to go see Kraden," Garet eventually mentioned, trying to get out of horsey duty. Jenna yelled and stuffed the rest of the cake into Felix's mouth, nearly choking him. She began explaining to Dora and Kyle, saying they had to go. He removed Aedin while he tried to clear his airways; he wanted to be upright. Aedin watched him, wide-eyed, and began patting Felix's leg, maybe thinking that would help. He managed to get the cake out of his throat (before swallowing it again) and patted the boy's tousled hair. Kyle picked Aedin up, smiling at Felix.

"Felix has to go now, Aedin. Say bye-bye." Aedin pouted, sticking out one hand and his lower lip, and waving to Felix.

"Bye-bye Felik." Felix smiled and waved back.

"Bye, Aedin." He nodded to Kyle and Dora. "Thank you." Dora shook her head.

"For the cake? It was nothing, Felix. You do quite a lot for us, all three of you do." Jenna smiled sheepishly; Garet turned bright red; Felix looked down and rubbed his neck. Kyle's smile had vanished. Jenna and Garet led the way out, and Felix followed them.

"Felix," Kyle called, closing the door behind him. He beckoned Felix over, and, telling Jenna he'd catch up, Felix went over to him. Kyle sighed; he'd left Aedin inside.

"Felix," he asked quietly, as if he didn't want to be heard, "you know, you don't have to do so much for us. You have your own parents, surely they need help just as much as us." Felix shook his head.

"I finish what I have to do before I come over, sir, you know that. Besides, I like to. I mean, you alone can't do everything around here; it's not like you have help with it like my parents and the Jerras–" He stopped as he realised what he was implying. Kyle had seen it too; he smiled sadly and shook his head.

"Felix… It wasn't your fault. What both of you did then was more than most adults managed. You kept your heads and protected those close to you. You don't need to blame yourself. Yes, Isaac's gone, but… We can be proud of him. Just as your parents are surely proud of you, for protecting your sister. You don't need to keep trying to make it up to us. I'll manage with the repairs." Felix smiled.

"Yeah… I know, sir. Still… I can't just stand around. Besides, what would Aedin think if I stopped visiting?" Kyle laughed and clapped Felix on the shoulder.

"You're a stubborn little… ah, well. I suppose I can't stop you. Once you get an idea in your head, you're just…" He shook his head. "And you don't need to address me as 'sir.' Just call me Kyle. And call Dora 'Dora.' You know us too well for 'sir' and 'ma'am.'" Felix nodded, said his goodbyes, and followed Garet and Jenna.

* * *

He caught up with them on the path to Kraden's cottage; they were hiding behind a rocky ledge. Jenna gestured for 'quiet'; Garet didn't move at all, only kept his attention focused on whatever was around the corner. Felix joined them and crouched down; the ledge they were hiding behind wasn't all that high. He could hear voices; two male, one female; two cold and emotionless, one somewhat…carefree, but there was a certainty and a severity hidden beneath the relaxed tone. It was a little disconcerting, especially as he knew, just _knew, _that he'd heard the voices before. He just didn't know where… Even odder, he thought they were Adepts, two fire, one earth. They couldn't be, though…

"He knows quite a lot. More than I thought," the carefree voice said. Male and youthful, it was a nagging itch in his brain. This one, particularly, was familiar to the point of being purely maddening–

"Hmmm… Can we use him?" the other male voice asked, so quiet as to be nearly inaudible. The female voice answered him.

"Yes. We can use him. His knowledge and research will prove useful." There was a snort.

"And of all _my_ research?" The youth again.

"He has decades of research into alchemy behind him, boy, you have a paltry three. Don't overestimate yourself." The other voice was silent in response to the man's rebuke. Felix frowned. What did they want with alchemy? He caught Jenna's eye; she shrugged and shook her head. _They scare me, _she mouthed. That was almost as disturbing as her conversations with Kay.

"So… what are we going to do now? This kind of… changes the plans, doesn't it?" The youth was the one who asked; the woman answered him with a snort.

"It doesn't matter; he's just an old– Saturos?" There was no response to this question; footsteps began to sound quickly, approaching their hiding place. Felix stood up and motioned to the others to do the same, then began walking forward as if he'd been doing it the whole time. A man came into view around the corner; he was blue-skinned (and surely not _scaled?) _and clad in scant pieces of armour and white trousers. His hair was blue, like his face, and came forward in a sort of stripe, giving the impression of a crest. His crimson eyes narrowed as his partner, a woman clothed much like him, only with long, blonde hair and reddish-pink skin, appeared behind him.

"You." It was not a question; it was more of an order, aimed at Felix.

"What?" He was not inclined to be polite with this stranger. The feeling seemed mutual.

"Why are you here? You weren't eavesdropping on us, were you?" Felix shook his head.

"Why would I want to? We're on our way through here."

"What business do you have here?" the woman demanded.

"It's our town," Garet replied, his voice soft. "Are you, by any chance, the group who came in and didn't bother to introduce themselves to the mayor?" He was doing a good job of hiding the fact that he was said mayor's grandson. "Have you any notion of courtesy?" The woman's lip curled up derisively and she seemed about to speak when the man cut her off.

"…Were you the ones Kraden had an engagement with? Are you going to meet him?" Jenna nodded, crossing her arms.

"Yeah. We're going to meet him right now," she retorted.

"Then…" the man's eyes flicked to his left, as if checking something. Then he smiled. "Go." The woman glared at him.

"Saturos, are you sure?"

"Menardi, we have no reason to delay these children any longer. Accept our… apologies…" He stepped aside, watching them as a hawk watches a mouse. Felix nodded to them in silence and the three filed past the man and his companion in silence. As they turned the corner, Felix looked around for their companion, the youth, but saw nothing. Had he left? Or did he want to avoid being seen?

Why would he want that? Felix shook his head. That voice… it had been so…familiar.

* * *

Kraden was pacing in front of his cottage. He did that a lot, actually; unwary visitors were often tripped by the rut in front of the door.

"Kraden!" Jenna called out, interrupting what had seemed to be a monologue. Kraden spoke aloud to straighten his thoughts; it had seemed odd for the first while, but Felix, Jenna and Garet had grown used to his mindless ramblings. The old man looked up and noticed them.

"Felix! Jenna, and Garet! Hello! Come here, I need to speak with you." The three exchanged glances and went up. This had something to do with those two, or three, whichever they were. Felix knew it.

His hunch proved to be right. The three strangers had been there earlier; they'd visited Kraden and spoken of Sol Sanctum. Most of what Kraden said about the conversation he'd had with them was nonsense (setting the elements in motion and breaking ancient seals, whatever in Weyard that meant) but one thing Kraden said actually made sense. They had spoken of the Sanctum as if they'd seen it themselves. But no-body was ever allowed inside. To Felix, that meant one thing and one thing only: thieves. He exchanged glances with Garet and Jenna. Garet nodded resolutely. Jenna's face showed worry and fear under anger and defiance. Felix bit his lip. Kraden was still talking, a meaningless undercurrent to his thoughts. Felix cut him off.

"Do you think… You think they were thieves?" Kraden adjusted his glasses; a habit of his.

"It is certainly possible. Indeed, I cannot see any reason to enter the Sanctum, if not to steal…" His eyes clouded over, pensive and worried, and Felix returned to his own thoughts. If there were thieves, they had to be turned in; the people of Vale were charged with guarding that Sanctum, and whatever lay inside.

"We've got to alert the elders," he told the other two, crossing his arms. Jenna nodded slowly, looking at her feet, and Garet grinned wildly and agreed with him, but Kraden held up a hand.

"They… may have been lying. They may have made everything about the Sanctum that they said up."

"Why would they do that?" Jenna asked. "What would be the point?"

"They may wish to know what is inside. They may have been trying to goad me into revealing what I have guessed, and how to get to it. They, themselves, may not be thieves, but information-gatherers for true thieves."

"So…thieves." Felix was unimpressed.

Garet agreed with him. "Yeah! I mean, they were no way smart enough to be spies. And wouldn't thieves be more…covert?" Jenna stared openly at him for his use of the word 'covert.' Kraden frowned.

"They may have guessed that others would think that, and have sent these in as decoys. No, we can't be sure… they may only be particularly tactless and rude–"

"And violent," Jenna interjected.

"–students of alchemy," Kraden continued, ignoring the interruption. He shook his head. "No, the only way we can be sure about their claims is to prove them ourselves. Or, of course, disprove them." Felix frowned. That smacked of disobedience, of dishonour and of recklessness. Still…

"Brother, what do you think?" Jenna was asking him; something she only did when she was worried or frightened. And yet, there was something glinting in her eyes… was she excited at the prospect? Of breaking into Vale's greatest, most sacred trust, being very likely yelled at and punished and possibly, just possibly, causing trouble, more damage than they could fix?

…Was he? Oh, Venus…

"Felix?" Kraden was asking him, now. "I can't go on my own… there may be guardians and monsters. Will you come with me?" The answer was out before Felix could consider further; it was as if it had been decided already. He was just an actor on a stage.

"Yes." Then, stunned by his own action, he stressed, "We'll just look around, make sure they were telling the truth." Jenna nodded, and Garet grasped the hilt of his sword, pleased with the prospect of catching thieves, perhaps. None of the three doubted Felix's position as leader; he'd been the undisputed leader since Isaac died. Until then, they had been in two groups, the others bickering whenever they joined up. Now it was quieter, but Felix was beginning to wonder if he liked it that way. But neither Jenna nor Garet seemed interested in taking over, and Thomas had been busy at his forge ever since his father had died. What was more, he'd developed an annoying habit of hitting on Jenna, something that always made Felix uncomfortable, although not to the point of disliking Thomas.

Kraden nodded excitedly and disappeared into his house. He reappeared a moment later with a smile on his face and a small sketchbook. (It was the joke of the town– Kraden was not a master draftsman and his sketches all looked like random scribbles, like Aaron's pictures of his home from when he was four. Except Kraden was about twenty times that age, and yet his drawing had not improved at all.) Felix sighed inwardly; Kraden seemed to think this was a field trip.

As they started off towards the Sanctum, Jenna whispered, "Let's just keep this our little secret, shall we?" Felix agreed heartily. If they did affirm the thieves' claims, then they would turn them in and say nothing of their little excursion. He nodded and patted his sister's shoulder. She smiled and Felix made a promise to himself. If they did get caught, he'd take the blame. He wouldn't let Garet and Jenna be touched by it.

They snuck past the (somewhat inattentive) guard and entered the Sanctum. It didn't seem very… mystical, more mildewy and Vermin-infested. Ghosts, whether summoned demons or restless spirits, Felix didn't know, roamed the hallways, attacking them periodically. Small green ooze-things attacked them too; it took ten minutes to clean the goo off his sword when they'd reached the inner chamber.

Felix had the feeling there was something in that room that was important, important enough to guard but easy to get, like a valuable weapon or a favourite book. The puzzles they'd passed had been simplistic, but they had required the use of Psynergy. It was as if they had been placed to forbid entry to all but those with Psynergy… all but the chosen people of Vale, the Sanctum's guardians. Felix was feeling a sense of urgency now, as if an unseen force pushed him on. It was weak too. Very weak… as if it were dying. That foreign sense was the only thing that kept him from dragging the others out. Try as he might, he could not bring himself to abandon it.

He looked down, at the symbol of Sol, a stylised sun set in tile on the floor. In the other room was the symbol of Luna, a similarly stylised moon, done in blue and silver to Sol's golden fire. Felix sheathed his sword and tapped his foot. Kraden was pondering a portion of the wall (oh Venus, this would take forever), and Jenna and Garet were playing 'I Spy.' He wondered how long they'd been doing it. He whistled and motioned them over to the stairwell.

They climbed it, leaving Kraden behind. At the top was a junction; they turned right. It was a room with four statues and the symbol of Luna connected to a room with three statues (One holding what Garet described loudly as a giant pie) and the symbol of Sol. Felix had the feeling they corresponded to the symbols below. He frowned and pushed one of the statues near the Luna symbol experimentally. As it moved, he heard a warning rumble. The Sanctum trembled under his feet and Psynergy, not just Vale's native Venus and Mars, but powers Felix had not yet felt, likely Jupiter and Mercury, welled up around him, potent and destructive. He replaced the statue hastily and the power subsided. He shuddered- the other powers had been _cold_– and moved into the other room. He looked at the statues there, then back at the statues flanking Luna.

The sense of urgency increased. He moved one of the smaller statues, causing a beam of light to reflect off the mirror it was holding and illuminate the floor gloriously. Felix stared at it in disgust before a thought struck him. He rushed over to the other statue and moved it; another beam merged with the first, and a hole appeared in the floor.

…Not a pie (of course it wasn't a bloody _pie_) but a plug! He ran over to the largest statue and used his Psynergy to move it over the hole. It toppled in, the giant disc catching in the hole; it was too big to fall through. Felix heard something click and headed back to the statues in the other room. All four moved easily; the forces in the Sanctum remained dormant, only twitching when all the statues were moved. He looked around; the picture of Luna had been replaced with one of Sol. The picture of Sol, likewise, had changed to one of Luna.

Garet and Jenna were nowhere to be seen. Returning down the corridor, he found them in a small room that looked as if it had less been built as had grown, spontaneously, out of some earlier chamber. The walls were made of Psynergy stones, a glittering wall of gold and green and purple and blue and red, depending on the way you looked at them. One stone lay on the ground, having fallen. Felix picked it up and gasped involuntarily as the power in the stone rushed into his body, leaving the Psynergy stone a nondescript piece of granite and him breathless. All of the Psynergy he'd used moving the statues had been returned to him, which in its turn restored his physical strength to the point where he felt as if he'd done no strenuous work all day.

Jenna was grinning at him from across the chamber. "We thought you'd appreciate that," she informed him. "We didn't have a clue what you were doing, so we left you to it. We've been in here. Have you ever seen so many Psynergy stones?" Felix shook his head– there was a reason the town square had been built around the Psynergy stone there, and it was rather weak from years of use by the townspeople. These were brimming with untapped power. Just standing in the room made him feel more powerful.

"Thanks, sis. I'm all done, anyway. Want to come see? Not much happened, but…" They both nodded and followed him out and down the stairs. They found Kraden, hopping around a beam of light in the Luna room– what was now the Luna room. Felix touched it and it flashed; so did he, the bright golden-green light of Venus. He jumped back as the beam of light vanished and a door of blue and white light appeared, a light that rippled and moved, as if it were gravity-defying water. Kraden gaped; Garet and Jenna stared from the door to Felix and back again. As ever, it was down to him. He steeled himself.

Felix stepped through the door.

* * *

See, I'm not dead! Yay! It'll take more than a crappy old laptop, schoolwork, NaNoWriMo and a useless ISP to defeat me! No, my own general laziness is what you have to fear, I'm afraid. That and I've gotten kind of used lately to this cool thing called 'sleep.' It's nice, really. And, lately, I've been drawing more than I've been writing. It's not really writer's block, it's just that I wanted to draw more for some bizarre reason. Weird, I know, but that's my brain. It keeps me alive, so I'm loath to critisise it too much.

I wanted to do a double upload—but I didn't manage it, with the two other fics and NaNoWriMo and all. Sorry. Next time will definitely be a double upload—that should be (by my reckoning) early February. I know this is a big letdown, but, again, sorry. Next time will be better. I promise.


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